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Viktor
Viktor was a Vampire Elder who appears in Underworld, Underworld: Evolution, and Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. He is portrayed by actor Bill Nighy. He is an antagonist in both Underworld and Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. Biography Viktor is a Hungarian general and warlord born sometime in the mid to late 5th century."...Viktor was a haughty, ostentatious Vampire overlord over 1,400 years old." ~ Underworld: Evolution production notes, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans production notes, Underworld: Evolution official site "Viktor is a haughty, ostentatious Vampire overlord nearly 1,000 years old." ~Underworld: Rise of the Lycans official site As Viktor is nearing the end of his life, Marcus Corvinus, the first Vampire, comes to him with an offer: Immortality in exchange for Viktor's military expertise and army in combating the Werewolves, spawn of Marcus's own twin brother, William. When Marcus converts Viktor, the general becomes a Vampire Elder and the first Death Dealers are created from Viktor's army. In 1202, the Vampires are finally able to locate and capture William. Viktor promises Marcus he will not harm William, despite the Werewolf's uncontrollable nature. In order for him to deal with the problem without breaking his word, Viktor has Amelia, the third Vampire Elder, deal with William. Viktor and Amelia finally manage to find William and the Werewolf is captured. Viktor then betrays Marcus, giving orders to keep William as far away from Marcus as possible. Viktor locks William away in a fortress, where he cannot harm anyone or create more of his kind. However, with the Death Dealers loyal to Viktor, Marcus can do nothing. Viktor keeps two keys to William's dungeon; the smaller one he kept in plain sight around his daughter Sonja's neck, where Marcus could see it. The larger one, however, he kept with him at all times, going as far as to have a bronze frame welded to his ribcage to hold within him, where Marcus could never see it. The relationship between the two Vampire Elders was always strained. Viktor, with Amelia's support, undercuts Marcus's power as ruler of the Vampire Coven, ensuring Marcus will never have the strength to free his brother. However, Viktor never stages an outright coup against Marcus, as he had been told that should Marcus ever die, all in his bloodline will follow him to the grave - including Viktor. To prevent this from happening, the Chain is constructed, a system in which only one Elder rules while the other two slumber. Viktor even domesticates a new breed of the Vampires' enemies, a humanized version of the Werewolves known as Lycans, which he uses as watchdogs to guard the Vampires during the daylight hours. Eventually, Viktor is at the center of sparking a new war with the Lycans. ''Underworld: Rise of the Lycans'' Viktor's daughter, Sonja, falls in love with a Lycan slave named Lucian and becomes pregnant. Viktor eventually discovers this and fears the blending of the species that would result should the child be born. He and the council condemn Sonja, Lucian, and their unborn child to death. Sonja is burnt alive by exposure to sunlight while Lucian, chained to the floor, is forced to watch. Before his own execution, Lucian uses the full moon to transform and escape - but not before taking Sonja's pendant with him. He then summons the Lycans and original Werewolves to battle, during which time Viktor personally duels Lucian. Although the Vampire Elder is more powerful, Lucian makes use of Viktor's weakness, sunlight, to incapacitate the Elder, and stabs Viktor through his mouth. Viktor manages to survive and retreats with Andreas Tanisand the other Elders while the rest of the Vampire coven are slaughtered by the Lycans. Viktor, determined to keep the location and map of the dungeon a secret from Marcus and Lucian, slaughters the family of the man he had commissioned to design it. He spares the man's daughter, Selene, due to her striking resemblance to Sonja. He converts her into a Vampire soon afterwards. The war rages on, and eventually draws to a close after Lucian is seemingly killed by a Vampire named Kraven. After this, Viktor gathers more power for himself, making himself leader of the Old World Coven, Ördögház, and going so far as to alter history. In the revised version of history set out by Viktor, he, not Marcus, is the original Vampire. In time, he exiles the Official Historian Andreas Tanis, who knew that Marcus was the first Vampire. ''Underworld'' In 2003, Viktor is hibernating, not to be awakened for another 100 years. However, Selene awakens him ahead of time, convinced that Lucian is still alive and that Kraven has made a deal with him. A furious Viktor confronts his protege, condemning her to be judged. Notably, Viktor seems to be more upset by Selene's relationship with a Lycan named Michael Corvinthan her claims of Kraven's treachery. Viktor orders Selene be locked away until Amelia and the Council can arrive and decide her fate. A tearful Selene begs Viktor to allow her to provide proof of her claims, but he ignores her. Later, with the help of a Vampire maid named Erika, Selene escapes the mansion, determined to find proof and to clear her name. Selene returns later that night with proof of not only Kraven's treachery, but Lucian's plan to use the blood of Michael Corvin to create a Hybrid by blending the blood of the two species. Upon learning the truth of Selene's claims, and learning that Amelia has been assassinated by the Lycans, Viktor becomes enraged with Singe, a Lycan captured by Selene. Viktor punches Singe, tearing open half of his face and killing him instantly. A guilty Viktor apologizes to Selene for not believing her and the two leave to pursue Kraven. However, neither Vampire pays any mind to Singe's blood spreading over the floor of the Elders' Chamber, unaware of the consequences that will ensue. Viktor promptly launches a full-scale assault on the Lycan lair, effortlessly breaking the neck of a transformed Lycan named Raze when the Lycan attacks him, then driving his sword through his chest. Kraven attempts to escape, but is forced to run and hide each time he sees Viktor. Viktor eventually comes upon Selene, who is in the process of biting Michael, making him a Lycan-dominant Hybrid. Furious, Viktor tosses Selene away from Michael and throws the latter through a wall and into the flooded courtyard. Unbeknownst to him, Kraven had revealed his duplicity in the death of Selene's family just moments earlier. Selene tearfully confronts Viktor, accusing him of killing her family and murdering Sonja. Viktor protests that he has given her immortality in return, a gift he insists is far more important than her family. When confronted about Sonja's death, Viktor claims that he loved his daughter and was forced to kill her to protect the Vampire species. Selene still clearly disagrees with Viktor's actions and he abandons her so that he can find and kill Michael. Viktor is then confronted by his ultimate fear: Selene's bite has reacted with the Lycan virus and the Corvinus Strain in Michael's body, causing traits of both Lycan and Vampire to appear. Michael attacks Viktor, initially showing speed and strength unmatched by even the Vampire Elder. However, Viktor, using Michael's lack of combat experience to his advantage, is able to subdue him. Viktor's bodyguards come to finish off the Hybrid but Selene kills each of the bodyguards. She is then punched aside by Viktor. Michael rushes to her aid but is overtaken by Viktor, who begins to strangle him. Upon seeing this, Selene makes the decision to kill Viktor. She slices his head in half with his own sword, saving Michael and avenging both her family and Sonja all at the same time. ''Underworld: Evolution'' Later, Viktor's body is retrieved by the Cleaners, an organization dedicated to cleaning up after the Vampire-Lycan war led by the original Immortal, Alexander Corvinus. Alexander extracts the key from beneath Viktor's flesh, only to later have it snatched by his son, Marcus. Viktor's dead body is most likely destroyed when Alexander Corvinus's ship is blown up. ''Blood Enemy'' In the non-canon novel Blood Enemy, Viktor is awakened in 1400 by Marcus shortly after the death of his wife, Ilona, in a raid of mortals led by the charismatic but insane monk Brother Ambrose. Having led the Vampires and Lucian, who is still a servant of the Vampires at this time, against Ambrose's village, Viktor bites Ambrose, intending to make the monk his immortal servant if he transforms, although he is satisfied when Ambrose dies of a violent allergic reaction to the Vampire virus. Although Viktor subsequently attempts to arrange a marriage between Sonja and Marcus's son Nicolae, his plans are ruined when news of this match prompts Sonja to admit her feelings for Lucian. With Sonja dead, Viktor permits Nicolae to lead a Vampire raid against a silver mine that Lucian had recently captured, but this assault, while destroying most of the Lycans, results in Nicolae's death when Lucian transforms without the aid of the moon for the first time. Powers and abilities As a Vampire Elder and one of the oldest Immortals in the series, Viktor is an extremely powerful Vampire. He possesses all of the attributes of his kind, though on a far greater level. He holds the distinction of being the only pure Vampire capable of physically overpowering a Lycan in its transformed state. Due to his extremely advanced age, he also has over a millenium of experience in hand-to-hand combat and weaponry use, which he uses to outmatch the Hybrid Michael Corvin (although not without sustaining considerable damage to himself). As a former miltary leader, Viktor is also skilled in strategy and tactics as well as politics, and was seen for centuries as the greatest of the Elders due to his cunning and manipulations. His death is remarkable because Viktor did not even register the sword cut until several seconds later, glaring at Selene in silent fury before producing two knives from his sleeves. However, when Selene holds up his sword, he sees his own blood running down its length in thick riveulets and has time to produce an incredulous expression before his head slides in half diagonally. *'Superior Endurance:' Viktor is capable of taking a considerable amount of damage and still fighting back. During his fight with Michael, he is punched and clawed several times, yet he continues to get back up. *'Superior Strength:' Viktor is tremendously strong, even for a Vampire. He is able to single handedly overpower a Lycan in its Werewolf form, throw people through walls, and punch a Lycan hard enough to tear off one side of his face. He is also able to go head-to-head with a recently-turned Michael Corvin and hold his own, although Michael's raw strength is so great that only Viktor's superior combat skills allow him to prevail. *'Self-healing': Viktor has the vampiric ability to heal from almost any injury faster than a human. He is able to heal from a sword driven through his mouth and quickly recovers from burns caused by exposure to sunlight. *'Superior Speed:' Viktor is incredibly fast, and can outmanuever most other Immortals. *'Agility': Viktor can jump and twist, and is seen leaping from high places and landing with ease. *'Blood Sorting': As with all Elders, Viktor is able to sort his blood memories. Personality Although not a pure-born Vampire, Viktor is nevertheless obsessed with the purity of the bloodlines, as shown in his attempts to establish a hierarchy by trying to arrange for Sonja to become an Elder. His fixation on blood purity is so great that he considers his victory over various Lycans to be only natural, as he views them as nothing more than dogs and slaves. Due to this, he views the possibility of a Hybrid as an "abomination" and takes extreme measures to prevent such a creature from ever existing. Viktor also views immortality as a gift above all others, as seen when he tries to reason with Selene when she discovers he had killed her family, that his "gift" to Selene (making her a Vampire) should more than make up for what he took from her. This interest in blood purity is also exhibited in Viktor's false claims that he and Amelia are pure-born Vampires. In both Underworld and Rise of the Lycans, Viktor is shown as a skilled, ruthless and charismatic leader for the Vampire race. He is also power-hungry and quite manipulative, as he takes steps to alter Vampire history books into viewing him as the first and most powerful of the Vampires. He rules over Marcus and undermines his power at every turn with Amelia as his ally, even banishing Vampire historian Tanis, the only Vampire who knew the truth, among other things. However, he is also extremely arrogant and equally as brutal towards anyone who disobeys the rules created by himself and the Council. This is arguably the driving factor of Lucian's rebellion against the Vampires and causes Viktor to gain a fair share of enemies, even among those of his own kind (such as Tanis, Marcus and Coloman, among others). As noted by Tanis, Viktor is not known to express gratitude over anything. He also apparently does not adhere to the rules he himself implemented, as noted by Kraven when speaking about the murder of Selene's family, implying that Viktor continued to attack and feed directly from humans, even though it was forbidden to other Vampires. In spite of this, he forces other Vampires to strictly follow the Council rules and is quick to punish or kill anyone who disobeys those rules. Viktor is also been shown as a somewhat caring father to both Sonja and Selene. With Sonja, he trains her as a warrior and frequently lets slip Sonja's constant absences from Council meetings and her constantly disobeying him. He is even willing to work the Council into sparing her life after discovering her affair with Lucian, but refuses when he learns that she is pregnant with Lucian's child. Despite ordering her execution, Sonja's death haunts Viktor for the rest of his life. This immense guilt led him to sparing Selene from the murder of her family due to her striking resemblance to Sonja, raising her as his heir in all but name. Despite this, Viktor places the integrity of the Vampire bloodline above all else and takes no qualms in having Sonja executed after discovering her pregnancy, and trying to kill Selene for her relationship with Michael Corvin, a Hybrid. Despite this, he does show genuine (if momentary) signs of sadness over these actions. However, he views Lucian as the one responsible for his daughter's death, despite Lucian having always been a loyal servant to the Vampires and saving Sonja's life on more than one occasion. Trivia * Viktor's name is a Eastern-European variant of "Victor", which is from a late Latin personal name meaning "victor", or "conqueror" -- an apt name for Viktor's character, who, even before becoming a Vampire, was a Warlord. * Actor Tony Curran (Marcus) states in the production notes that Viktor is older than Marcus, meaning Marcus had only been a Vampire a few years when he turned Viktor."It also means that Viktor, who is played by Bill Nighy in a flashback sequence that begins the new film, was merely a usurper. “I was the first,” declares Tony Curran of Marcus, “but it doesn’t mean I was the most powerful. I was an arrogant young vampire; Viktor was a powerful man and when he became a vampire, being older and more experienced, he took over the leadership." ~''Underworld Evolution'' Full Production Notes According to the novelizations, however, Marcus is chronologically older that Viktor. * While Viktor is chronologically older than Marcus, he is chronologically younger than Alexander Corvinus. * Viktor is comparible to Vlad the Impaler, as according to the novelization of Rise of the Lycans, Viktor was historically infamous for "dining amidst a field of gallows and impaled prisoners" when he was still mortal, something that Vlad "the Impaler" Dracula was also famous for about one-thousand years later. Poetically, in the novelization of Underworld, he is described by Michael as a "real life Dracula". * Viktor is also comparible to King Acrisius of Argos in Greek mythology. Both sentence their respective daughters to death for having fallen pregnant with a child they fear will threaten their powerbase. * In Blood Enemy, Viktor rode a black warhorse named "Hades", and is identified as "Lord Viktor of Moldavia". * Viktor is the only character that has an active role in all of the first three Underworld films. Quotes Gallery File:Viktor1.jpg|Viktor with a glass of blood. File:Underworldrise-armor.jpg|Viktor in his armour. File:Billvik2.jpg|Bill Nighy in front of a large poster of himself as Viktor. Viktorposter.jpg|Official wallpaper featuring Viktor. File:Selenevsv.jpg|Viktor meeting his death by the hands of Selene. Uw_wallpapers_viktor_1024x768.jpg|''Underworld: Evolution'' wallpaper featuring Viktor. References Category:Male characters Category:Deceased Category:Antagonists Category:Evolution characters Category:Rise of the Lycans characters Category:Underworld characters Category:Character Category:Vampire Category:Vampire Elder Category:Death Dealer